GHG Emissions from Operations

ST is committed to reducing its direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions, including PFCs, from its manufacturing and other business operations, in accordance with scopes one to three of the Kyoto Protocol.

At ST we believe that climate change, caused by increased levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) poses the most significant threat to the planet. Even though the semiconductor industry is a relatively minor contributor to overall GHG emissions, it emits high Global Warming Potential (GWP) substances. We began setting ambitious targets in the 1990’s to reduce perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in our manufacturing processes, as part of our commitment to outpace national and international regulation and emission reduction targets.

“The Rousset plant was designed from the start to be a "green semiconductor plant". We selected the best available technology for PFC elimination to achieve and maintain full PFC abatement and we will maintain this focus when investing in new manufacturing equipment. To pursue this ambitious goal, we also work in partnership with suppliers to develop alternative substances and processes to increase the efficiency of PFC extraction”.

Management of GHG emissions

ST manages its GHG emissions through a strategy that takes all aspects of the value chain into consideration and seeks to work with stakeholders to bring about reductions.

We measure, manage and report our direct and indirect emissions in accordance with the GHG Protocol:

Scope 1: Direct emissions resulting from the use of city gas (CH4) and Perfluoro-compounds (PFC) which both have a very high Global Warming Potential

ST has defined a carbon road map in order to striving forwards direct emissions neutrality.

This road map focuses on PFCs, which represent more than 90% of our direct emissions. Our objective is to reduce absolute PFCs emissions by 30% by 2020 compared with a 1995 baseline. To support this objective, we have a policy that requires all new processes and tools adopted by our sites to be equipped with abatement systems. Every year, ST also defines an environmental investment strategy to upgrade existing equipment at our manufacturing sites.

During day-to-day site activity, internal experts work on optimizing manufacturing processes to reduce the need for chemical substances and to replace high GWP gases with lower or GWP-free alternatives.

To offset the remaining direct emissions, ST has developed a number of reforestation programs. Between 2002 and 2003, ST planted approximately 9,000 hectares of trees in Australia, Italy, Morocco and Texas. In 2010, we commissioned a third party assessment of our CO2 emissions sequestered for the overall reforestation program.

Coordinated at corporate level and implemented by each site, this program defines how ST will manage major incidents via the assessment of business risk, emergencies preparedness and disaster recovery.

Analysis of climate change related risks

In 2012, ST conducted a more detailed risk analysis of these risks (phase 1 of BCP) with the help of an external consultant. The scope of this assessment covered our entire value chain, from raw material production and sourcing, to transportation, direct operations, use of our products and their end-of-life.

ISO 14001 and EMAS

​Our 12 manufacturing sites are ISO 14001 certified and EMAS validated, which means that they have evaluated their environmental risks and impacts and have integrated them into management systems.

Involvement of suppliers and subcontractors

ST works in close collaboration with supply chain partners and strongly encourages them to adopt environmental management programs. Our supplier requirements include strict environmental criteria that are regularly updated and communicated. For more information, see Management of Sustainability in Supply Chain page.